Little Soldier Girl
by gxanderia
Summary: The war has been over for several years. Shepard and Liara have made a home together with their little girl. Despite all this, the war still haunts Shepard. She does her best to stay strong in front of her daughter. Read this if you're also a fan of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Not much of a crossover, but the reference made seemed appropriate.


Tense muscles relax under a blanket of hot water. Jet black hair sticks to her skin. Diana looks down at her left arm. Cybernetic scars give off a soft red glow. Wet fingers run over her arm and leg, like a key to a door, they unlock memories of the war. People shout her name, _Shepherd! Help me! _Fire to her left. Enemies to her right. Something explodes behind her. She cannot hear the screaming anymore. She cannot see through the could of dust. Smoke wraps its claws around her throat. She is alone. Her comrades are out of sight. Could be, she is last one, of all her friends and all of their dreams?

With a sharp inhale, she opens her eyes. Diana is in her shower. _The war is over. I'm home now. The war is over._

Wrinkled finger tips hover over her scars. She turns off the water and steps out of the shower. After all this time, the large white towel still feels luxurious compared to the small brown ones the Alliance issued its troops. Diana pulls a grey shirt over her head. _University of Serice _is printed in faded black letters across her chest. A grin spreads across her face as she pulls on a pair of black shorts. _The war is over. _

She walks into her bedroom as she dries her hair. A commercial for a new type of omni-tool plays on the muted vid screen. The lights have been dimmed. The sound of keys clicking and soft murmuring float in the air. Diana is greeted by a familiar sight on her bed. The soft glow of a computer screen illuminates blue skin. Large sapphire eyes dart from left to right.

"No, no that's not right." She says under her breath.

Diana's grin spreads across her face. _I'm home now. _

"Liara."

Her eyes look up from the screen.

Diana takes a set on the bed. "Don't work too hard." She throws her towel across the room into the laundry bin.

"I have to get this done. There is so much I have to fix."

"I know. But you've gone through it a hundred times. The editor says it isn't due for another three weeks right? And yes, I actually remembered that. You can spare a night to relax." She puts her hand on Liara's leg.

"You remember that, but you couldn't remember to feed the fish this morning?" She closes her computer and sets it on the side table. She crosses her arms. Her lips curl into a sly smirk.

Diana shakes a finger at her. "Don't change the subject."

Liara's arms drop to her lap. She lets out a small laugh and exhales. Diana beams at the sight. She cannot keep herself from staring.

"Something on your mind?" Liara sits up.

She shakes her head and looks away. "Don't worry about me. You need to get some rest. The dishes are done. I put Althaea to bed a half hour ago. I even put Glyph in sleep mode."

"It did seem awfully quiet tonight. Thank you." She leans forward and brushes away wet hair from Diana's face before giving her a quick kiss. She pulls back. "Are you wearing my shirt?"

"I am. Why? Do you want it back?" She tries to bite back a mischievous grin.

"I think I do." Her voices drops into a sultry whisper.

Diana pushes her back into the bed's headboard. "Then take it back." She whispers into her open mouth.

She does not let her answer. She can feel Liara's warm hands slide up beneath her shirt. Heat spreads through her body as their kiss deepens. Cool air hits the skin on her back as her shirt is slowly pulled up. The taste of Liara's kiss ignites a hunger in her. The feel of her hands chases away her thoughts.

"Momma?" A soft voice pulls them apart.

Liara pulls Diana's shirt down and buries a flushed face into her shoulder.

"What's wrong sweetheart?" Diana cannot contain the smile on her face.

An embarrassed wife in her arms and sleepy child at her door, she has every reason to be happy.

"I can't sleep." Althaea rubs her eyes with her free hand while the other drags a stuffed varren across the floor.

"You stay." She pulls away from her wife. "You need to get some rest." She kisses her forehead before she gets to her feet.

She takes her daughter and the toy into her arms. "Do you want me to read you a story?" She kisses her cheek.

"You read all of them." Her small blue hands clutch Diana's shirt.

"I did? We'll get some more tomorrow okay?" She walks to the door. "Tell mommy she needs to sleep too."

"Mommy! Sleep!" The child demands.

Liara blows her a kiss. "I will. Good night. I love you."

"Night, night. Love you." Althea mimics her. She kisses her tiny hand and waves at her mother.

"How about I sing you a song?" She walks out of her bedroom and into the dark corridor.

The child grip tightens around Diana's neck. "Okay."

Diana rubs Althaea's back. The child's breathing soothes her. Her daughter rests her head on her shoulder, warm exhales brush the nape of her neck. She hears soft footsteps behind her, but she does not turn back to look. She smiles. Perhaps her wife needs a lullaby as well.

A warm orange glow from a nightlight fills Althaea's room. She lays her daughter down onto her bed. The child crawls under her blanket and clings to her toy. Small eyes full of hope and admiration look up at Diana. She remembers her mother tucking her into bed on the nights before she was to be deployed. A melody blossoms in her head.

_Leaves from the vine_

_Falling so slow_

_Like fragile tiny shells_

_Drifting in the foam_

She falls into another memory. The day she died. Sudden flash of light then darkness. She drifts alone in the black void, her lungs plead for air. Her head pounds. Faces flash in her mind. Faces she will never see again. She falls into the void.

_Little soldier girl_

_Come marching home_

_Brave soldier girl_

_Comes marching home_

Diana puts a hand on her daughter's arm. Her mouth smiles, but her eyes deceive her lips. She is thankful for the low lighting. Althaea does not move under her hand. She hears shuffling behind her, but again she does not look. Her eyes are fixed on her daughter. A memory flashes in her head. Her mother had tears in her eyes. She thought Diana was asleep. She was not. Her mother cried every time she left. She could hear her talking to the nanny, "Please take care of her if I don't come back." _Why wouldn't mom come back_? She thought. Her mind drifts to every time she had to say goodbye to Liara. Every time she had to look into those big blue eyes and say, "I will come back." Every time she nearly choked on her words because half of her felt she was lying.

_Those leaves did grow_

_From branches overgrown_

_Drifting slowly down_

_Resting on the loam_

The words she sings breakdown the floodgates of her memories. Battered faces stare at her. Faces belonging to those no longer alive. Smiles turn to frowns. Lips that will never speak again mouth things to her that she cannot hear. Old friends wave at her. Each of their deaths are seared into her brain. They are only memories now. Can she keep them alive?

_Little soldier girl_

_Taken from home_

_Forced to fight a war_

_That's not her own_

The scene of her first gunfight fills her mind. A fallen friend's mangled body lies beside her. She cannot move, she only stares. It fades into the scene of her last fight. People scream, but she cannot hear them. She cannot help them. Her hands, her arms, her body, all covered in blood. Red and blue and black. It did not matter. It was blood. She looks back to see Liara's crying face. More blood stains her beautiful face.

_Leaves from the vine_

_Falling so slow_

_Like fragile tiny shells_

_Drifting in the foam_

Her voice cracks. Tears fall from her eyes. Diana does not know if Althaea has fallen asleep. She can feel the child's steady breathing as her hand moves to her back. Another memory invades her thoughts. Touching the lifeless body of a quarian man. Holding his weeping daughter in her arms. Touching the lifeless body of a krogan woman. The man responsible for taking her life stands before her. Touching the lifeless body of an old friend. Pressing her hand into her own open wound. Blood soaked hands stain his shirt when she takes his dog tags.

_Little soldier girl says  
"Carry me home"  
Sleeping soldier girl  
Is carried home_

She cannot keep her voice from shaking. Her hand leaves her daughter's back and glides up her arm. Scarred skin beneath her fingertips sends a shiver up her spine as though her body remembers the pain. Diana slumps forward as she hold onto herself. She looks down at her sleeping child and she cannot contain her tears. Her chest expands with each heavy breath. She is cold, the hair on her arms and neck stand on end. She wants to go home.

"Diana?" A whisper brings her back into the room.

Without saying a word, she gets to her feet and walks to the figure in the door way. She looks up to see wet blue eyes staring at her. Liara throws her arms around her neck. With a sharp inhale, her body releases and collapses into her wife's arms. Diana clutches her wife's shirt as though she were afraid she will drift away.

"You're home now."

She closes her eyes buries her face into the woman who carried her home. The scent of vanilla fills her. Liara's muted sobs are all she can hear. She holds her tighter. Her steady heart beats against Diana's chest. Her memories are chased away by her wife's gentle breaths.

"Yeah, I am.


End file.
